Red Heart
by Spottedeyes
Summary: Fourteen year old Jay is delighted to finally be able to go on a journey by herself through Unova. She has suffered an unusual medical condition since she was born and has her doubts on her physical ability to travel and handle herself, will Jay rise above the rest and become Unova's hero, or will she fall to her medical condition? (A Mastocytosis awareness story)
1. Chapter 1

Red Heart

**This fanfic is very personal for me. It is to raise awareness about Mastocytosis, a condition that I have suffered from since I was born. **

**I am making my main character suffer from this condition as well on her journey through multiple regions starting with Unova. So, before I begin this FF, I believe I should tell you the basics of Mastocytosis. Mastocytosis is a mast cell disorder. These cells create histamines which trigger allergic reactions. Now you see, I was born with too many of these cells and now I am extremely sensitive to things that most people can do or handle with little to no difficulty. **

**If I get too stressed, I break out into hives. If I get too cold, I break out into hives. If I get too hot, I break into hives. If I brush my hair too roughly I break into hives. If I smell something like cigarette smoke or car exhaustion I break into hives. If I get stressed out, I break out into hives. If I eat spicy food I break out into hives. If I **_**exercise **_**I break into hives. The list goes on. **

**When I break into hives, since only my head is covered in red spots (inactivated hives waiting to be irritated), my brain sort of freezes up and I can't think. My head gets unbelievably itchy and painful, my skin turns beet red and I get the chills even though the hives make me super hot to the touch. And if my body has an extra violent reaction, like say I get stung by a bee (which I never have been), I would probably freak out and I would run a high risk of going into anaphylactic shock. That's why I carry an epipen at all times. **

**So that's Mastocytosis! Yay! **

**Anyway, this story is also the first one that I will be trying to include some romance… I'm not very good at that, it takes a lot out of me but I'm going to try anyway. Arceus what am I getting myself into with this… Anyways, please give 'Red Heart' a chance! **


	2. Chapter 2

Red Heart

Chapter 1: Breaking away

She combed viciously through her long brown hair, not caring if it would irritate her scalp. Today was far too important for her to worry about that stuff.

Her Eevee sat on the bathroom counter, watching the girl with interest.

"I can't believe she's letting me leave." She murmured, ripping through another knot, wincing as the familiar hot pain seared through her; but her ice blue eyes stayed bright.

"Eve." Eevee nodded, mimicking her master's smile.

Tearing through the last knot, she threw her hairbrush in her light blue backpack and slung the bag over her shoulder. Eevee hopped on her shoulder last minute, her clipped claws barely catching her T-shirt.

"Mom, I finished packing! When's Professor Juniper going to be here with my ride?" She hollered, practically falling down the stairs.

Her mother waited at the bottom of the stairs, a concerned look on her face. "Jay, are you sure you want to do this?"

Jay rolled her eyes, "for the last time, yes. I can handle myself, I promise!"

"Honey, you nearly fell down the stairs-"

"Mom, I'm going end of story."

She sighed in defeat. "Alright, do you have a change of clothes?"

"Yep."

"What about a brush?"

"Ahuh."

"Toothbrush and toothpaste?"

"Yes."

"Sleeping bag?"

"Yes."

"Pills and epipen?"

"Yes, mom."

"And your X-transceiver?"

"Mom, I promise you I'm ready."

"I'm just making sure, I wouldn't want something to happen to you and have you not be prepared."

"I assure you that if anything goes wrong Kiki will help me."

"Right, so Kiki can poke you with an epipen?"

"Vee!" Kiki cried, upset at the fact that Jay's mother didn't trust her completely.

"Well if you're taking Kiki why are you even getting a starter Pokémon? They're awfully expensive you know."

"We've been over this. Kiki doesn't like to fight. She's more of a companion."

"Jay-" "Why are you even complaining, mom? I'm to one who's paying for it not you!" She snapped.

"I just don't like the idea of you going on a journey without someone. I don't want you to go into anaphylactic shock and not have anyone there to help you."

"But I won't. I never have and the doctors don't think I will and I have an epipen on me. I promise I'll be fine."

"Alright… well Professor Juniper is too busy getting ready for you and the other trainers to escort you so she told me to be expecting a young man who just set off on his own journey a few days ago."

"Cool." Jay nodded.

Her stomach churned at the thought though, as she hadn't ever been good at talking to guys… she just sounded stupid or really loud when she talked to just about anyone; and she was easily embarrassed.

Embarrassment was a pain for Jay. Embarrassment plus freakishly pale skin sprinkled with some extra mast cells equaled the world's brightest blush.

"Why don't you wait outside for him then?" She suggested, gesturing down the hallway at the door.

She forced a shrug, "okay."

_Anything to stay away from you. _Jay said inwardly, rolling her eyes as soon as her back was facing her mother.

"Jay Louise Marshall what on earth happened to your hair? Did you even brush it this morning? Here, come back and let me iron it-"

"Bye mom." Jay grumbled, ignoring her mother and walking out the door.

"Jay-"

She slammed the door. "Arceus she's annoying."

Kiki nodded her agreement, readjusting herself on Jay's shoulder. Jay put her hands on her hips and at observed the lively streets of her home town: Acumula town. She knew just about everyone in the smaller town, so she figured it wouldn't be too hard to find her escort.

"See anyone, Kiki?" Jay asked, turning her attention to the Eevee.

Kiki strained her ears and looked from left to right before shaking her head. "Eve."

Jay shrugged, "eh, he'll get here soon."

She started walking towards route two where she assumed he would come out. A steady stream of people and Pokémon were flowing in and out of the security check, most of them happy looking.

"Hey, excuse me." A voice asked.

Jay turned around, curious to see if someone was talking to her or just to someone around her. A boy around her age with brown hair stood there, a Tepig perched on his hat. Out of habit Kiki did the same, her dulled claws scraping at the top of Jay's head. She gritted her teeth and tried her best to ignore the hot pain on her scalp.

"Yeah?" Jay responded, awaiting his response.

"Um do you happen to know where this address is?" He asked, handing her a slip of paper.

"264 Basculin Avenue?" She conformed.

"That's the one." The boy responded.

Jay smiled, "yeah that's my address."

He looked taken back, but quickly regained his confidence. "So you must be Jay?" He asked.

Jay nodded, "and you must be my escort?"

"You know it." He grinned, extending his hand in greeting. "I'm Hilbert, and this is Eddie." He said, his brown eyes looking up at the Tepig sitting atop his head.

Jay gingerly accepted his hand, choking down a blush. Kiki smirked at her. "And I'm Jay. O-Oh, and that's Kiki." She said, gesturing towards Kiki while forcing herself to ignore her taunts.

"Alright, so are you all packed up?" Hilbert asked.

Jay nodded. "I was ready last night actually."

"Then let's go, if we leave now we can make it back here by nightfall and stay at the Pokécenter."

"Okay." The two then started towards route one.

XXX

"So how long have you been on the road?" Jay asked awkwardly.

"About a week." Hilbert replied.

A long silence followed. "Why'd you volunteer to come escort me to Nuema then?"

"Well I was already going back to ask Professor Juniper about this Woobat I caught, it's a strange color."

Jay nodded.

"So why Pokémon are you going to pick?"

Jay shrugged, "I don't know, I like all three of them really. I guess I'll just let the Pokémon pick me."

"Fair enough," he replied. "Eddie did that. I was about to pick Oshawott and then his poke ball just started shaking like crazy so I picked him instead."

"You're lucky you know, having Te- I mean Eddie like you so much without even looking at you."

Hilbert shrugged. "It's just luck of the draw, you know? Either you just have the connection or you have to build it."

Kiki and Jay exchanged curious glances. "Yeah I guess you're right." She said thoughtfully, her blue eyes still glued to Eevee.

"So what's with Kiki? Eevee don't just pop up around here you know."

"Oh, her? I got her for my thirteenth birthday from a breeder. My mom wanted to make sure I really wanted to become a trainer and take care of all those Pokémon so she gave me Kiki." Jay replied, scratching Kiki's chin.

Kiki gave a purr of approval, leaning into the tickling feel.

"Geez how much money does your family have? A rare pure-bred Pokémon like Eevee and a starter Pokémon in just two years? That has to have cost something."

"Oh, I got her for free. My cousin Bebe's best friend is an Eevee breeder so she gave Bebe one for free, then Bebe gave her to me." Jay explained.

"Well you're lucky." Hilbert muttered, eyeing Kiki with envy.

She laughed, "that's one of the reasons why I don't want to leave her at home while I travel."

"Eevee!" Kiki chirped in agreement.

"Besides, I don't know if she could last with my mom, she's seriously overbearing and a hover-parent. I feel so lucky that she's letting me do this." Jay sighed.

Hilbert shrugged, "yeah mine's sort of like that. I like to call her the 'Nag Bot 2000'."

Jay laughed, becoming more comfortable with him. "Oh yeah? Well did your mom follow you on her bike while you were walking with a friend? Mine did."

"Well then…" He replied.

"Te!" Eddie squealed, looking to Kiki for conformation.

Kiki nodded and started chattering at him, as though retelling the story.

"Even I don't have a story to top that one." Hilbert admitted.

"It's tough to top my mom." Jay shrugged.

Hilbert was about to respond when Eddie and Kiki leapt off their heads and started running ahead. They both blinked their surprise.

"Are we close or something?"

Hilbert nodded, pointing into the distance. A smile crept onto Jay's face, feeding off of Kiki's excitement as she suddenly bolted after the two Pokémon. She could've sworn she heard Hilbert shouting for her to wait up, but she didn't care.

Jay caught sight of her Eevee as the Eevee ran ahead of Eddie, who sprinted in a feeble attempt to catch up to the faster Pokémon.

"Tep!" Eddie complained, practically tripping over his own hooves.

Jay stifled a laugh, her lungs burning as she ran. Her eyes were bright; it'd been a while since she ran. Deep down, Jay knew she'd regret running as soon as she stopped. Her breaths grew more ragged as her stamina dwindled. Jay slowly stopped, not stopping as she remembered from school that it wasn't good to stop running and stop or lay down right away.

Her head immediately started pulsating, hives started to swell into angry, quarter-sized welts. Kiki came running back, knowing the consequences that her trainer was facing for running.

"Arceus, Kiki, how am I going to do this stupid journey if I can't even run half a mile?" Jay heaved, her throat raw as she caught her breath. "I've gotta get in shape."

"Eve…" Kiki murmured sympathetically.

"Jay! Geez you're a horrible listener, I told you to stop at least five times." Hilbert complained, catching up with the girl.

Jay mustered a laugh, "sorry, just got a little too excited there."

"Yeah I can tell," he said as he looked around. "Hey, where'd Eddie go?"

Jay shrugged, "I don't know."

Hilbert was about to respond when Eddie came back into view.

"P-pig!" Eddie gasped, the fire pig Pokémon stumbling back to his trainer, collapsing at his feet.

Hilbert picked the Pokémon up and placed him back on his head. Eddie gave a content snort and wagged his tail to show his appreciation.

"No problem, buddy." He said, patting his head before turning back to Jay.

"You ready to keep going? I can see the lab from here," Hilbert commented, pointing to a small cluster of oak trees. "See? Just above the tree tops."

Jay shivered as the chills set in, but followed Hilbert's gaze anyway, smiling as she saw the lab. "Yeah… yeah, I see it."

"So are you ready?" He asked again.

Jay wordlessly nodded, picking Kiki up and wrapping her bare arms around the Eevee, her warm fur making her feel slightly more comfortable. Her head and knees throbbed, but she followed Hilbert down the trail without a complaint.

XXX

The lab was bigger than she expected. There was one big room with all sorts of machines lined against the walls with scientists poking around them. In the center of the room was a table, like the ones in the Pokécenter that the nurses put the Pokémon on. There was a door to the right of the table and four directly behind the table. Everything was colored silver and white and smelled very sterile; almost like lemons.

"So this is the lab?" Jay asked, her pain forgotten.

"Oh no, this is a sport stadium; of course it's the lab." Hilbert smirked, Eddie oinking in amusement.

Jay rolled her eyes, "hilarious."

Kiki shot Eddie a good natured dirty look.

"Where's the professor?" She asked again, hoping not to get another snarky retort from Hilbert.

He opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by the opening of the door to the right of the table. A lady that looked to be either in her late twenties or early thirties stepped out, a Minccino at her heels.

"Oh! Hilbert, you're back; that's great! Where's that Woobat you caught?" She asked curiously, ignoring Jay's presence.

Jay didn't take it personally, her friends did it to her too. More than she'd like it, but it wasn't that bad.

"Yeah, I've got him right here." Hilbert said, pulling a poke ball from his belt and releasing a green Woobat.

"Bat, bat, woo!" The Pokémon screeched, flying to the ceiling of the room, searching for a suitable perch.

The woman's eyes shone. "That's a shiny Woobat, they're extremely rare, Hilbert."

"Awesome!" He said, turning to Eddie. "Hear that, Eddie? We caught ourselves a shiny after only one gym battle!"

"Tep, tep!" He squealed, happy that he pleased his trainer.

"Alright, Bat, come back." Hilbert smiled, returning the Woobat to its rightful poke ball.

"Do you want to keep it for now, or should I have him travel with me?" He asked.

"Keep him, Hilbert. But be sure to give me a call when he evolves; I'd love to see a shiny Swoobat." The professor replied cheerfully.

Hilbert nodded, clipping the ball back to his belt. Jay cleared her throat. The woman turned to face Jay, a look of surprise washing over her. Even Minccino appeared to have not seen her.

"Oh, you must be Jay. Sorry about that… it's been a while since I've seen a shiny, I guess I got a little carried away… Anyways, you can get your Pokémon as soon as the other two new trainers get here."

Jay nodded, "thanks."

"No problem…" Her voice trailed off when she saw Kiki.

"An Eevee?" She gaped, coming closer.

"This must be my lucky day." Professor Juniper smiled, tickling Kiki's chin. "I've only seen pictures of Eevee, but never have I seen one in person."

Jay forced a smile. _If you hadn't ignored me like that I might have offered for you to hold her. _

"We're here, Professor." A professional sounding voice declared.

All heads turned to the door. Two people around Jay's and Hilbert's age walked in. One was a girl with short blond hair and had a bizarre-looking beret type hat sitting atop her head and wore a stupid-looking grin. The other was a boy with black hair and just looked very stiff. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he got closer, the girl prancing along beside him. Professor Juniper clasped her hands together and approached the two.

"Hi Cheren, Bianca. Ready for your Pokémon?" She asked.

"Yes!" The girl who Jay assumed to be Bianca squealed, looking around as though expecting the Pokémon to appear at any time.

Cheren merely nodded, "that would be great, Professor."

Pleased at their answers, the professor walked behind the table and into one of the four doors behind the table. Seconds later she reemerged holding a tray with three depressions each filled with a poke ball. Hilbert stepped back, already having Eddie and several other Pokémon he'd already caught. Jay advanced towards Cheren and Bianca, standing awkwardly near the blond.

"Alright, since Jay was here first she can go first." Professor Juniper said, gesturing at the girl.

The one who Jay assumed to be Cheren narrowed his eyes. "But she already has a Pokémon. Shouldn't we pick first?"

Bianca nudged Cheren. "Aw who cares, Cheren? They're all soooooooo cute! Any one of them would do.~ " She said happily, watching Jay anxiously to see which Pokémon she would claim.

Jay blinked her thanks, a little surprised that a stranger that didn't even know her would stand up for her.

"Okay." Jay said as she stepped closer to the tray. "So there's Tepig, Oshawott, and Snivy, right?"

The professor nodded. Her hand then hovered over the pokeballs.

"I choose… Snivy." Jay decided, plucking the grass type's poke ball from its depression.

Before anyone could react, Bianca threw herself at the professor and the tray, grabbing a poke ball in the process.

"I choose Oshawott! It's super cute~ " Bianca declared, holding the sphere up as though she caught the water type herself.

Cheren gritted his teeth and took the final poke ball, Tepig, off the tray.

"I wanted Tepig from the beginning anyway." He said sourly, grimacing at Bianca.

Not waiting any longer, Jay released her new Snivy.

"Sniv!" Snivy cried, taking in his surroundings.

Kiki hopped onto the floor without hesitation, wanting to become acquainted with her new traveling partner as soon as possible.

"Eve!" Kiki greeted, her tail wagging a little.

Snivy nodded at her. "Vy. Snivy."

Jay smiled and kneeled down beside Snivy. "Nice to meet you, Snivy." She grinned, offering her hand to the snake-like Pokémon.

Snivy looked at her with one eye half open, eventually extending a vine to shake her hand. Jay beamed at the gesture, ecstatically shaking the vine. What seemed like a smirk formed on Snivy's face at his new master's excitement over a movement as simple as a hand shake. Bianca and Cheren released their Pokémon too, Bianca squeezing Oshawott so tightly that Jay swore the poor water type's eyes would pop out and Cheren explaining his ambitions to Tepig, who happily listened to its trainer's high hopes and expectations that it would soon have to match.

The professor spoke once more, interrupting the three new trainers' introduction to their new partners.

"Alright, now that you all have your Pokémon now, I suggest that you nickname them. It'll help you get closer to your Pokémon. But before we get too into that, here." She handed each of the new trainers a small electronic encyclopedia. "It's called the-"

"Pokedex. Yes, I know." Cheren interrupted, clearly wanting to leave as soon as possible.

Professor Juniper nodded, both impressed and annoyed at Cheren. "Yes, very good, Cheren. Please fill the Pokedex pages on your journey, it'll greatly help my research."

All three nodded. She smiled cheerfully, "now go test your new Pokémon out on route one; I'll be waiting to teach you how to catch Pokémon." Professor Juniper then walked around the three trainers and left the door with Minccino at her heels.

Before anyone could say a word, Bianca spoke.

"Let's have a battle!" She shouted, holding Oshawott away from her chest to support her idea.

Jay nodded in agreement, picking both Snivy and Kiki up. Kiki automatically went back to her shoulder perch and Snivy stayed put, not wanting to disappoint Jay by squirming from her grasp.

"That actually sounds reasonable, Bianca." He said, impressed at his friend's idea.

Hilbert stood idly in the corner with Eddie, watching the three with interest. Jay shot him a smile before facing Bianca.

"Wanna battle me?" She invited.

Bianca, not thinking about the bad matchup, hastily agreed. "Yeah!"

Jay's smile broadened, loosening her grip on Snivy. The grass type eagerly leapt from her arms, staring at Oshawott.

"Go, Oshawott!" She cried, tossing the water Pokémon onto the ground.

Cheren looked at the two girls skeptically. "Um, guys, are you sure that having a Pokémon battle in the lab is a good idea?"

Bianca waved him off, "aw Cheren, you worry too much! They're too little and weak to do any damage."

Jay didn't respond, hoping that this Bianca girl was right.

"Tackle, Oshawott!"

"Step to the side and trip it with your tail!" Jay commanded.

Snivy obeyed, side-stepping the water type and wrapping his leaf-like tail around Oshawott's ankle. The water type face planted on the lab floor. The battle began gaining the lab workers' attention.

"Now you use tackle, Snivy!"

"Vy!" Snivy responded, slamming into Oshawott before it got up, sending the small Pokémon flying at a nearby machine.

The scientists began to panic, about five flocking towards the machine and typing codes to try to undo the damage. Neither Jay or Bianca noticed, the battle beginning to intensify.

"Don't give up, Oshawott! Tackle again!"

"You too, Snivy!"

Both Pokémon knocked heads, Oshawott flying at a few shelves that held empty pokeballs and Snivy flying into a stack of folders. Snivy got up with little difficulty, shaking the impact off. Oshawott however, didn't get back up.

"Aw! Darn it!" Bianca pouted, returning her fallen Pokémon to its poke ball.

Jay was about to cheer when she saw the mess that the battle made. Broken pokeballs and crumpled papers were everywhere and the scientists were still frantically trying to fix the machine that Oshawott had been knocked into. Snivy started looking around too, a guilty look on his face. Bianca still didn't notice and turned to Cheren.

"You need to fight Jay!" She declared, gesturing to the stunned brunet.

"Bianca… look around." Cheren said, face palming.

Bianca looked around, and gasped as she took in the scenery. "Oh…"

Cheren straightened up and faced Jay. "Even though you two made a mess, I still think we should battle. Besides, I bet I can battle you and not make the mess any worse-"

"No more battles in this lab!" An angry worker shouted, leaving the machine to usher all four of the teenagers and their Pokémon out of the lab.


End file.
